Autumn is a lovely time of year for a celebration. The seasons are changing, the light is softening and the air is getting crisp. Traditionally it’s a time to give thanks for food, friendship and family. It’s also a perfect time to welcome a new arrival.
Naming ceremonies can be small and intimate or grand and glamorous, but the best part is that they’re entirely personal to you. You can organise your own event or you can work with a professional celebrant to craft a script that reflects your family’s unique story. Here are five ideas from Anne O’Brien at Bluebell Naming Ceremonies for a beautiful autumn naming ceremony.
An outdoor venue
What better way to embrace the beauty of autumn than by welcoming your guests to an outdoor ceremony. Naming ceremonies can be held anywhere, so it could be an orchard bursting with ripening apples or a dappled grove in a woodland. I love Evenley Wood Garden for a perfect little slice of nature.
Autumn theme
Autumn is a time to celebrate abundance and generosity. It’s the season for Thanksgiving dinners and harvest festivals, with comforting seasonal food, earthy colours and mellow candlelight. Sticking with the outdoor theme, try Nyama Catering Co for super-charged BBQ food.
Readings
There are lots of gorgeous poems, inspired by nature and well suited to naming ceremonies. My Parents’ Garden is a good choice, but I also like Ode on the Whole Duty of Parents by Frances Cornford. It sounds like quite a serious title, but the words are thoughtful and uplifting.
The spirits of children are remote and wise,
They must go free
Like fishes in the sea
Or starlings in the skies,
Whilst you remain
The shore where casually they come again.
But when there falls the stalking shade of fear,
You must be suddenly near,
You, the unstable, must become a tree
In whose unending heights of flowering green
Hangs every fruit that grows, with silver bells;
Where heart-distracting magic birds are seen
And all the things a fairy-story tells;
Though still you should possess
Roots that go deep in ordinary earth,
And strong consoling bark
To love and to caress.
Symbolic acts
These are moments of reflection that capture the meaning of a naming ceremony. Planting a tree would fit perfectly with the time of year, to mark the start of a new life and the opportunity to grow.
Little touches
Wishing trees are a lovely way for guests to offer words of advice for the future. This one uses autumn leaves to gather messages of love and support from family and friends.
If you’re planning a naming ceremony this month, many congratulations!. Enjoy all that autumn has to offer. Contact @bluebellnamingceremonies based in the lovely village of Barford St John for celebrant services and advice on Oxfordshire naming ceremonies. It would be my pleasure to create a beautiful event for your family.
About Bluebell Naming Ceremonies
Bluebell Naming Ceremonies is a new adventure for me, but something I’ve wanted to do for a really long time. The idea first came to mind when we organised my daughter’s naming ceremony. I thought what a privilege it would be to create and deliver such a wonderful celebration. Families are formed in all sorts of ways (my youngest daughter is adopted) and it’s my ambition to create beautiful events which celebrate these important moments in life, in whatever form they might take.
Like many people, I don’t have a particular faith, so a naming ceremony was the perfect way for me to welcome my children into the world. I love language and the power and subtlety of words, so my quest is to create modern naming ceremonies that are personal to you, that recognise the joy, diversity and informality of family life in the 21st century, but that carry moments of reflection too.
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